Heart Health

If you have high cholesterol, one thing you can do is change your diet to see if that lowers your numbers enough so that you don't need to take medication. And one dietary approach—the Portfolio Diet—involves limiting foods that raise blood cholesterol and adding foods that lower it. But does it work? New research says yes—and then some.

In the past, a test for measuring cholesterol levels was typically done by drawing blood after you fasted overnight. According to the latest guideline from the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC), most people who don't take statins or other cholesterol-lowering drugs no longer need to fast (though it's still OK to do so).

After a heart attack, women are less likely than men to receive the recommended high-dose statin treatment. Results of a large U.S. study found that despite efforts to close gender gaps in heart disease treatment, women are still less likely to receive certain effective therapies. The reasons remain unclear.

If you are obese and have atrial fibrillation (AF), shedding some pounds may help you reverse the course of the condition. It's known that weight loss is important for obese people with AF, by helping with lowering blood pressure, managing sleep apnea, and reducing the frequency of AF episodes. Now there is evidence that weight loss can reverse AF.

There's no reason to routinely use electrocardiograms (ECGs) to screen people for signs of coronary heart disease, even if they have risk factors for the condition. That's according to the latest recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF).

Modifying your lifestyle is an effective way to reduce the risk of heart disease. Yet many people at high risk feel no need to alter their lifestyle habits, a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association suggests. That's concerning, because it's estimated that modifiable risk factors account for the majority of the risk for heart attack among the general population. In other words, people have the power to make a huge difference in their heart health.